AFRPR 18

Chapter 18

Before he could think, Duren’s body moved on its own.

His first mother only gave him sad memories. But after being separated from her, his grandmother gave him nothing but happy ones.

Just like now.

“Duren!”

Estelle shouted in surprise as Duren suddenly let go of her hand and ran off.

She tried to follow him, but the crowd was too thick—it was hard to move even one step without bumping into someone.

Duren quickly disappeared into the crowd, and Estelle’s face turned pale with worry.

“My lady! I’ll go after him!”

One of the knights hurried to chase after Duren.

Unaware of the panic behind him, Duren ran fearlessly through narrow alleys and grabbed a woman’s coat.

“Grandma!”

It’s grandma! It really is!

“Yes?”

The old woman turned around.

“Who are you, child?”

Duren stared at her face, unable to accept that he would never see his grandmother again.

For a long time.

Her short white hair… her bent back…

They looked like his grandma.

But looking like isn’t the same as being.

She wasn’t his grandmother.

“Where are your parents, dear? You should go back to them.”

Parents.

Duren suddenly snapped out of his daze.

Wait.

“Mom!”

His mom wasn’t there.

He didn’t know that the best thing to do when lost is to stay in one place.

So he ran.

Thump.

He wasn’t watching where he was going and crashed into something.

He fell on his bottom and looked up.

There were scary-looking men.

He had ended up in a quiet, empty alley.

“What the—?”

The man, already in a bad mood, grew angrier when a child bumped into him.

“He’s clearly from Winterlen. Just ignore him.”

Another man recognized Duren and tried to stop his friend.

“Wait.”

But not everyone thought the same.

“Hey, kid. Are you alone? Where’s your dad?”

Dad? He didn’t have one.

Duren shook his head.

“This could be our big chance.”

“He’s from Winterlen.”

“So what? We just keep him until the duke offers a reward for his safe return.”

“…”

“It’s simple, right?”

Duren sensed danger and tried to run, but it was hard even to stand.

He started crawling.

“Winterlen gets their kid back, and we get rich. Everyone wins.”

A large hand reached toward Duren.

As Oliver shouted, Duren’s vision faded to black.

Meanwhile…

“This isn’t your fault, my lady.”

“That’s right! It’s all our fault, not yours!”

The knights guarding Estelle and Duren bowed deeply in apology.

“If I were you, I’d be out searching instead of talking.”

Lennox, having heard the full story, glared at them coldly.

“Yes, sir! We’ll find the child!”

Though the knight chased Duren right away, they lost track of him.

All they found was Duren’s half-eaten chicken skewer in a dark alley.

Finding it in such a secluded spot made it clear that Duren hadn’t just gotten lost—someone had taken him.

Lennox ordered the village to be sealed off and began a search.

He even went out with Estelle to look for Duren.

At first, he didn’t like the idea of working with her.

“Have you seen a small child?”

“…”

“Black hair, red eyes, about this tall. Around five years old.”

“…”

“Please, if you’ve seen him, let us know. Please.”

But seeing Estelle desperately beg every passerby softened Lennox’s attitude.

He stopped ignoring her and started watching her closely.

Estelle’s voice grew hoarse from repeating herself so many times.

She even started coughing badly.

Cough cough.

She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief. Lennox caught a glimpse of what looked like blood—but she hid it so fast, he wasn’t sure.

Normally, coughing up blood would scare someone.

But she acted like it was nothing, like it happened all the time.

“You don’t need to push yourself. Go rest. We’ll tell you as soon as we find him.”

She looked exhausted, so he tried to get her to take a break. But she refused firmly.

“I can’t. This is all my fault.”

Estelle bit her lip, her face full of guilt and sorrow.

“If I had just held onto Duren more tightly…”

“…”

“No, it’s the knight’s job to hold his hand, not mine.”

Lennox had originally suspected Estelle.

Maybe she was pretending to feel guilty to avoid blame.

Or maybe she was just trying to look like a good mother.

But after watching her, his opinion changed.

“Didn’t you hear the knights? This isn’t your fault.”

That’s probably why he said something kind—even though he didn’t need to.

Estelle didn’t respond. She just gave a faint, tired smile.

It didn’t look like it made her feel any better.

“Duke!”

Not even an hour after the search began—

“We found them!”

The search party returned.

“We found the men who likely kidnapped the child!”

“And Duren?”

Lennox asked sharply.

“They say the child escaped from them. We haven’t found him yet.”

“Of course they’d lie. I’ll interrogate them myself.”

“Yes, sir.”

Then an unexpected voice spoke.

“I’ll go too.”

It was Estelle.

“It won’t be a pretty sight.”

“That’s okay.”

“Do as you wish.”

Let’s just hope she doesn’t throw up, Lennox thought as they headed off.

Lennox kicked the man tied to the chair.

“Agh!”

The kidnapper, Oliver, fell over with the chair.

He was already beaten up badly, so the pain didn’t even register.

“I—I’m not lying!”

His speech was slurred—some of his teeth had been knocked out.

“L-Look at my arm!”

“Check him.”

Lennox nodded.

Pippin rolled up Oliver’s sleeve.

“There’s a bite mark.”

“T-The kid bit me!”

“The teeth marks are small. Likely from a child.”

Lennox sighed.

Duren had escaped from his kidnappers.

It was impressive—but it also meant they were now on the wrong trail.

“We’ll search the area around where he was found.”

“Understood. What should we do with this man?”

“Get rid of him.”

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Oliver tried to beg for mercy, but Pippin quickly covered his mouth.

Lennox ignored the muffled sounds and glanced at Estelle.

So that’s why she wasn’t afraid when we first met. She meant it.

Estelle didn’t flinch or get sick watching the harsh interrogation.

Instead, she looked deep in thought.

It’s good she has a strong stomach, Lennox thought.

Better than someone who faints.

As he was thinking this, Estelle looked up and said,

“I think I know where Duren went.”